A Mother's Day Gift

Sarah Lloyd will have an extra special reason to think about her doting son this and every Mother’s Day.

There’s every chance she would not be here today to mark the annual celebration had Ollie, her only child, not donated one of his kidneys when his mum’s health took a serious turn for the worse.

And while the two of them won’t be able to celebrate Mother’s Day together, given that Sarah lives in Bulgaria and Ollie is a resident in Oxford, they’ll never be far from each other in thought.

“I’ll definitely be thinking of Ollie on Mother’s Day,” Sarah said, “as I tend to on our birthdays and those types of occasions. Without his gift of life I wouldn’t be here.

“Ollie’s father was the donor for my first transplant and obviously Ollie, our only child, was the donor for my second. I obviously chose wisely!”

Sarah, 61, spent the best part of five years in and out of Hammersmith Hospital after she was diagnosed with the chronic autoimmune disease Lupus, aged just 15.

Her health gradually improved, allowing Sarah to enjoy a normal and very active lifestyle for a number of years until she suffered a devastating flare up in pregnancy that would force her to require a kidney transplant, aged 37.

As pressing as her need was at that time, Sarah reached an even more critical condition when her donated kidney began to fail, leading to fibromyalgia, in 2018. This time it was Ollie who stepped in as donor to provide a gift of life he and his mum will forever treasure.

Ollie said: “We’ve always been incredibly close, but this has brought us closer still. It gives you kind of a badge of honour when you compare your relationship with other people’s and their parents.

“It’s part of our combined story. I hold it as something we’re very proud of as a family.”

The 34-year-old added: “I have annual check ups and my health has been absolutely fine since the operation. If anything, my situation has improved because I feel like I now get an additional level of care.

“I’ve been made to feel quite important and that any treatment, were it needed, would be fast-tracked and really taken seriously. The level of care for me post-donation has been very good. I feel like I’m part of an exclusive club.”

Ollie runs Mach3, a marketing agency that provides social media content for the Westfield Health British Transplant Games, among other clients. Ollie intends to edit a recent interview with his mum, in which Sarah talks about her transplant journey, and publish a short video on social media to coincide with Mother’s Day.

“It was an interesting conversation we’d never really had before and was insightful for both of us,” Sarah said.

“We’d obviously spoken before on a superficial level, but this conversation was in a lot more depth. We really learned a lot about each other.”

Because Sarah responded so well to her first transplant, was fighting fit and able to occupy a physically demanding job, the topic of organ donation, and how she and Ollie might feel about donating to and receiving from each other, was never really discussed.

Yet that conversation very quickly came into focus when it became apparent in 2018 that Sarah would need a second kidney transplant to enjoy any quality of life, let alone lead an active one. There was very little hesitation, in spite of Ollie’s medical history as a sufferer of the autoimmune condition spondylitis.

“It was very much like, ‘I’ll get tested then and donate if we’re a match’,” Ollie said. “That was the crux of the conversation. It just felt like the natural proceedings. I can’t even imagine a reality where that wouldn’t have been the case.

“For me, it was like ‘dad did it and was fine. I’m sure I’ll be a match and I’m sure it’ll be fine.’”

Sarah added: “I don’t know why anyone would ever say ‘no’ to organ donation. It has allowed me to live another life. I’ve lived every single day like it was the last one, in some ways.

“I’ve made the most of every single day and that’s testament to what Ollie has done and what Simon has done. I didn’t want them to think I was going to waste it because what they’ve given me is the most precious thing in the world and I’m going to maximise that.”

A quick conversation resulted in a successful kidney transplant at Churchill Hospital in Oxford that has had a direct, life-changing impact on not one, but two people’s lives.

Encouraging conversations about organ donation is one of the key aims of the Westfield Health British Transplant Games, which this year takes place in Sheffield from August 6 to 9.

The Games will see around 2,500 people, including more than 1,000 transplant recipients, participate in 26 sports in venues across the city. They are the flagship event of the Transplant Active campaign, which raises awareness of organ donation and promotes active recovery for transplant recipients.

Ollie has long held an interest in the Games, as a proud member of the extended donor family, but is especially determined to participate this year having filmed the 2025 event in Oxford and captured some of the many powerful stories that were brought to life.

“My mum and I almost had an unwritten agreement about organ donation,” Ollie added. “But not all families work that way.

“Telling your loved ones you'd like to be an organ donor is so important because if you were to die it is they who have the final say over whether your organs are donated, which could ultimately save up to nine lives.

“Having a conversation like this can open up a stronger line of communication. Because it’s inherently such a complex topic, I think it bridges a gap that enables you to have a deeper connection with your family.

“Having filmed at the Games last year, it made me wish I’d been involved years ago as an active participant. It’s absolutely something I’d like to get involved in.”

The feeling’s mutual for Sarah who, despite adopting a more cautious approach after her second gift of life, continues to lead a very active lifestyle. Sarah teaches English to students online, but much of her time is spent rescuing and rehoming street dogs, a passion she shares with Ollie.

Sarah has sent some of the dogs she has nurtured, in a selfless commitment that has helped her rehab physically and mentally, to friends in England where they have found forever homes.

“I would definitely like to get involved in the Games,” added Sarah. “I split my time between the UK and Bulgaria and will make a point of being back for future Games because I’d really like to see what it’s all about.

“We live in a world where deeper topics that may have previously been pushed to one side are now being discussed and organ donation has to be one of those things, very much so.

“Anything that encourages people to talk openly to their loved ones about organ donation and their organ donor wishes, should anything unexpected happen in later life, has to be a good thing and well worth supporting.”